for stardom. It was only a few months before he returned, in The Whoopee Party (1932), and from then on, he was part of the Disney gang.

As a background character, Goofy went unnamed in the cartoons — but in the comic strip, where he was introduced simultaneously, his name was given as "Dippy Dawg" (by which he was known behind the scenes at the studio). By the time he graduated from "extra" status to that of "supporting character", he'd been christened "Goofy" in both venues.

Goofy reached prominence in a series of cartoons in which he, Donald Duck, and Mickey Mouse take part in some group activity, such as Clock Cleaners (1937) and Boat Builders (1938). With Goofy & Wilbur (1939) he and Colvig's unique voice finally got star billing.

When Colvig left Disney, a new series of Goofy cartoons was launched — cartoons in which the main character does not speak. How to Ride a Horse (1941), which was released as part of the compilation feature The Reluctant Dragon, which several other short cartoons, was the first of many in which a narrator gives advice on a common activity, while Goofy silently carries out his instructions, with comical results. Goofy also appeared in two other 1940s Disney compilation features, Saludos Amigos (1945) and Fun & Fancy Free (1947).

Later, Goofy was cast as suburbanite "George Geef", in such cartoons as Motor Mania (1950) and Home Made Home (1951). The last theatrically-released Goofy cartoon was Goofy's Freeway Trouble (1965). Only one of his cartoons, How to Play Football (1944), was nominated for an Oscar.

It was smething similar to his suburbanite self that starred in approximately 80 episodes of Goof Troop, which aired as part of the "Disney Afternoon" of half-hour cartoon series during the early 1990s. This series led to a feature film, A Goofy Movie, released to theatres on April 7, 1995; and a second, An Extremely Goofy Movie (aka Another Goofy Movie), released direct to video on Feb. 28, 2000.

In comics, he remained Mickey Mouse's sidekick for many years. But even there, he showed his flair for adopting disparate roles. In 1965, to defeat The Phantom Blot (a long-time Mickey Mouse antagonist), he became Super Goof, scourge of evil. Super Goof appeared regularly in comic books until the early 1980s, and is still seen from time to time in various parts of the world.

In his original role as Mickey's pal, Goofy continues to appear in comic book stories the world over. He was also part of the "Mickey Mouse Works" segment of One Saturday Morning, and House of Mouse, which replaced it. But neither in comics nor in animation did he achieve the prominence of his former co-stars.